WilCo Adds 1,400 Coronavirus Cases After Data Glitch Identified

AUSTIN, TX — A technical glitch detected by health district officials has resulted in identification of some 1,400 confirmed and probably cases to the coronavirus count in Williamson County, officials revealed this week.

Late Wednesday, Williamson County and Cities Health District officials said a recent quality assurance check of data import systems yielded previously unreported cases of the respiratory illness. All told, officials identified about 600 confirmed and 800 probable cases from July and October that were "...unintentionally excluded in reporting" for Williamson County, officials said.

The unreported batch of cases will be dispersed by the actual dates reported to the health district in its statistical dashboard and daily report graphs, officials said. The corrected numbers have changed from 10,011 confirmed cases reported on Nov. 9 to 10,676 confirmed cases reported for Nov. 10 along with 189 probable cases reported on Nov. 9 to 1,023 probable cases reported for Nov. 10, officials noted.

Definitions of confirmed and probable cases can be found on the Department of State Health Services website.

In compliance with the health district's gating criteria, the county has elevated its community alert system, officials said. County officials have moved to the orange level, which indicates high coronavirus transmission in the community, according to an advisory. However, health district officials said the newly added cases that had gone unreported do not affect the rolling seven-day average and the change to orange phase due to having occurred prior to the current rolling 7-day average.

Health district officials noted the rolling 7-day average for incidence rate (rate of new reported infections) has increased from 6.88 to 9.22 per 100,000 residents over the past seven days.

The risk-based guidelines set out four distinct stages of risk, from the lowest threat, Green/Minimal Community Spread, through the most serious, Red/Uncontrolled Community Spread, along with recommended behaviors for each stage. The guidelines are suggested for planning but are not requirements. Local guidance may be superseded by an Executive Order of the Governor.

The Williamson County and Cities Health District said officials will be reporting the prior day's data to allow for time to perform additional levels of quality assurance checks.

For more information on COVID-19, visit the Williamson County and Cities Health District dashboard.

The reporting changes follow a move in July to end the practice of announcing deaths separately as had long been done since the onset of illness. Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell was called to offer condolences to families losing loved ones to the virus whenever new deaths emerged. But after the level of deaths reached 90, county officials opted to abandon the practice of issuing separate news releases on deaths — which had included genders, age ranges and other data — to apprise the public.

Related story: WilCo To Stop Announcing Coronavirus Deaths As Count Reaches 90

According to the Williamson County and Cities Health District dashboard, there have been 10,676 confirmed coronavirus cases since the onset of illness and 158 deaths. Sixty-eight more cases of the illness emerged on Wednesday, according to the dashboard, bringing to 331 the number of active cases.